# Skin Care Questions



## Coloursfall (Mar 2, 2010)

Okay, so. I'm getting my tattoo soon (getting the appointment on Wednesday), and it's going to be on my left shoulder blade.  But I have one slight problem; I have (mild) acne on my back.  Not 'omg cheese pizza' bad, just a few blackheads and whatever. I have a few questions pertaining to this!

1.  Does acne impair getting the tattoo? I think it would, but I wanna make sure.

2.  Do any of you know quick ways to cut it down? It's not that bad right now, and I've been using apricot scrub, bar soap, and tea tree oil on it.  My aunt says Cider Vinegar helps, but my mom and I are sceptical...

3.  What would happen if I have a breakout after the tat is done in that area? I'll have to take really good care of the area so hopefully it won't break out or anything...

Thank you if anyone knows anything :3


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## #1 bro (Mar 2, 2010)

I have no idea what the answers to your questions are but I am of course compelled to ask what it is that you're getting a tattoo of?


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## Coloursfall (Mar 2, 2010)

A design I made myself :3  This is the design, though it's a bit rough right now.  The artist will most likely need to adapt it to fit the shape of my body and smooth it out a bit.


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## Dannichu (Mar 2, 2010)

1. A friend of mine who's training to be a tatto artist (and has a fair few tats of her own) happened to be online, so I asked her and she told me it's not a great idea to get one done over an area where you currently have acne, because it massively increases the risk of infection, since acne's basically a small, under-the-skin infection, and mixing that with needles and ink isn't the best plan.

2. This might sound a little extreme, but the contraceptive pill is a very effective way of cutting down acne - a friend of mine had it prescribed to help her with her skinchare problems when she was about fourteen and she was really embarassed about being on the pill, but it did help... though I don't know if you can get it for free where you live; in the UK you can get it free pretty much on demand. If you can, it's something to consider; try it for a few cycles and see if it works for you.
Also, and this could sound a little weird, because acne is linked to hormones doing the stuff they do (hey, I nearly failed biology, don't expect me to know all these technical terms), see if there are times over the course of your monthly cycle where your skin gets better and then worse; if there's a week or so where the skin calms down a little, maybe that's a good time to get your tattoo?

3. My friend has no answer on what happens if you get a breakout after the tattoo is done, but if it leads to scarring, I imagine it could mess the tattoo up a little.

Maybe it could be best to wait a few years, get out of teenagerdom and see if your skin calms down, so you can get it then? I get that you want it done (it looks awesome by the way; _I_ kind of want it :p), but since it's going to be part of you forever when you do get it done, you want to be totally sure it gets done properly.

Hope this was something resembling help, and good luck with it :D


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## departuresong (Mar 2, 2010)

Full Metal Cookies said:


> 2.  Do any of you know quick ways to cut it down? It's not that bad right now, and I've been using apricot scrub, bar soap, and tea tree oil on it.  My aunt says Cider Vinegar helps, but my mom and I are sceptical...


Get some kind of prescription stuff from your doctor.


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## opaltiger (Mar 2, 2010)

Full Metal Cookies said:


> 2.  Do any of you know quick ways to cut it down? It's not that bad right now, and I've been using apricot scrub, bar soap, and tea tree oil on it.  My aunt says Cider Vinegar helps, but my mom and I are sceptical...


I use a cream, active ingredient azelaic acid. It's worked pretty well for me, and it's not particularly skin-destroying, either. I forget where you live, but I think in the UK the brand name is Skinoren. Might be prescription-only, though.


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## Dannichu (Mar 2, 2010)

I'm a little suspicious of some medications that are specifically used to prevent acne - someone I know was put on medication by his doctor to treat a skin condition that made him have terribly painful-looking boils on his back, and while the medicine (I don't know the name, but it's a pill rather than a cream) helped his skin, there was a side-effect of making him rather short-tempered. I realize such side-effects are rare, and all medication has some risks, but that's just an experience I've had with them.


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## Coloursfall (Mar 4, 2010)

I had a really bad reaction to a acne medication a few years back, so mum is rather reluctant to get me on one. :c which sucks, but oh well.

And I would wait longer to get it done, but I'm moving away soon, and since my mother is paying for it, she wants me to get it done when I still live in town, which also sucks.  But I have decided that my best bet is probably just changing where I'm getting it, to a less acne-prone spot that is also large enough for it.  I've been thinking about it a bit, and I've come up with a few spots that may be good:

-Shoulder sort of area, just over my busom (this seems painful though, but I wouldn't know. I like this option though.)
-Stomach (probably a No Go, as I plan on having a baby later in life...)
-Hip-ish area, on the fleshy part? This one is hard to explain.
or
-Outer thigh (I also don't like this one, since I don't wear short shorts and skirts much so no-one would see it :C)

I'm thinking the first option...does anyone know if it hurts a lot there? I've been told it varies from person to person but I'll endure it if I have to, since I _really_ want it done.

[/long rambley post]


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## Coloursfall (Mar 4, 2010)

Ohhay look an update of the situation!

We just got back from talking to the artist!  She looked at my design and she's going to change it a bit, redraw it to fit the spot that she figured it'd go best and I agreed (my calf), and we're going to book the appointment to have it done on Friday.  :3 thank you all so much for helping, and if anyone has any ways on general skin care, actually, It'd rock to hear it.  <3


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## Dannichu (Mar 5, 2010)

Pictures as soon as it's done! :D


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## Tarvos (Mar 5, 2010)

Yeah you are probably better off not doing it on acne-covered areas.

Also, yes, the pill helps with acne.


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